


tell me darling can i fall in love with you?

by brewcha



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, High Speed!, Introspection, M/M, part-high speed! and part current time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 08:39:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1381114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brewcha/pseuds/brewcha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Makoto’s world, Rin had always been a shining, far away star in the sky. Beautiful, dazzling, and far off beyond what Makoto could hope to reach.</p><p>Perhaps, at the end of the day, Makoto could really just do with a little bit more faith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tell me darling can i fall in love with you?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [patriciaselina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/patriciaselina/gifts).



> A birthday fic for the hardworking [author of retrouvaille (makoharu)](http://patriciaselina.tumblr.com). It's 2:28AM, and I know you're working hard on materiality's finale, but hey have more makorin distraction.

“R-Rin! Shouldn’t we, um, _not_ go any higher?”

“Yes we should! You won’t be able to see anything from down there, Makoto!”

“We’ll _fall_ , Rin!”

Wobbling slightly, Makoto gripped the tree trunk the best he could as he looked up dazedly at the bright grinning boy, who was practically _swinging_ with glee as he balanced himself on the higher, thicker branch. It was said bright grinning boy who had talked Makoto into climbing up the big tree in the park with him. “ _The sights are amazing from that height!”_

Despite Makoto’s worries and his fussing he had found himself climbing up the tree anyways. Whether or not it was a good decision was still up for debate.

Rin knelt down and extended a hand towards Makoto. “No you won’t! Have a bit more faith, Tachibana!”

“I _do_ but I just—“ Makoto broke off as he grabbed Rin’s hand, making sure he had found sound footing between the branch and tree trunk before letting Rin haul him up.

“Have some faith in _me_ ,” Rin sounded almost affronted as Makoto cautiously sat himself down on the branch. One look at his dancing eyes though and Makoto knew Rin wasn’t really offended. “And yourself. Your big’n’tall, Makoto, I bet you can reach the uppermost branches and it’d be no big deal.”

Makoto laughed wearily and shook his head. “Being big and tall doesn’t make me fast or nimble like you though, Rin. I just get clumsier the bigger I am.”

Rin made some sort of noise and Makoto watched him as he leaned back against the tree trunk and crossed his arms, the branch barely swaying at all under their combined weight. “Yeah but…you’re strong, aren’t you? The teacher always gets you to help carry the heavy books because only you can do it without taking _forever_.”

Makoto shrugged, smiling. He was a lot calmer now that they had stopped climbing for the moment. “But I can’t do things like you and Haru can. Or Nagisa. Haven’t you seen me fumbling with my work sometimes? And I’m not that much of a smooth swimmer either.”

 _As long as I don’t look down, I’m fine._ Makoto told himself as he swung his legs a little, eyes idly gazing at the cluster of faint leaves clinging onto the branches, fresher clusters beginning to grow with the promises of sun and warmth. Although they weren’t even halfway up the tree, Makoto could see the tops of some nearby houses.

“Makoto,” Rin’s unsatisfied tone made Makoto look up. Rin was looking at Makoto with an unreadable expression, his gaze serious and lips pursed in a thoughtful frown. “What’re you talking about?”

“Huh?” Makoto blinked, suddenly feeling self-conscious under Rin’s intense gaze. “I-I was just saying that I’m not as good as you or Haru or—“ Rin suddenly knelt down right beside him, the branch bouncing by a small fraction at the sudden movement, their gazes interlocking.

“You swim like a total _animal_ , Makoto! Your strokes are powerful and you cut through the water like nobody can!” Rin’s eyes took on a certain glow as he spoke. Makoto recognized that glow – it was the same kind of glow when Rin chattered about how fast Haru was, how they should form a relay team, how amazing it’d be when the cherry blossoms bloomed and the petals covered the pool. “And I bet you nobody has ever climbed this high up with me before. Nobody’s seen this much with me before.”

Rin was looking at Makoto right in his eyes, the same way Rin had when telling Haru directly that they should swim relay. Makoto always admired that look in his eyes: there was a kind of determination and directness, an unspoken energy and daring that always stirred something in Makoto’s heart.

He felt that stirring feeling now. “Rin I—“ Rin blinked as if he just realized what he had said.

“—Of course you still have to climb up to the top with me, first!” Rin quickly continued, ducking his head as if to hide the sudden flush blooming in his cheeks. He looked away and got up to his feet, barely even glancing down. “C’mon, Makoto, _up up up_!”

“Wait—“ Makoto gripped at the branch as it jolted at Rin’s movements. “ _Now?_ ”

“Yes, now! Right now! We’re not going to stop and just sit here!” The intensity from just a moment ago seemed to have disappeared, replaced by Rin’s earlier energy. The bright grin and dancing eyes were back. “Life is a ladder you must climb, or something like that.”

“Did you make that up?”

“No! I read it from…a book…I forgot the name,” Rin sniffed. He smiled, though, extending a hand out to Makoto. “Let’s go, Makoto, there’s a lot of things to see from the top.”

“A-Alright…” Makoto stared at Rin’s hand, his own shakily leaving its vice-like grip on the branch before taking hold of Rin’s. Despite their differing size, Makoto was convinced Rin had a stronger, much more confident grasp.

“I’ll go first,” Rin was already turning and nimbly hopping off to the next branch before Makoto could say anything. “Remember to have a bit of faith, Makoto!”

“I told you already, I do!” Makoto protested, watching the smaller boy perilously hang off the other branch for a moment before he effortlessly swung himself up to the top. Rin grinned brightly down at him.

“Then show it to me, Makoto,” Rin was not challenging Makoto, not exactly. He looked at Makoto in a way that made his belly flutter, his confident sunny grin looking like it could take on the world, in a way that Makoto knew he could never come close to. “See if you can catch up!”

Rin flashed another grin and Makoto blushed, tearing his gaze away and forcing himself to focus on getting up to the next closest branch. A rustling sound told Makoto that Rin was continuing his ascent.

Makoto did not know what it was that compelled him to climb up the tree with Rin, knowing full well of how possibly dangerous it was. It wasn’t like he wanted to prove something, because he knew he was not that sort of person, and Rin, though bossy and teasing, had not by any means forced him.

“The view is getting even better, Makoto, you need to hurry on up!” Rin called out and Makoto paused just long enough to look up at him.

Perhaps it was the look on Rin’s face, his dancing eyes and bright grin that gave the answer. Rin was fairly high up the tree, and in Makoto’s world, he was a shining, far away star in the sky. Beautiful, dazzling, and far off beyond what Makoto could hope to reach. At this particular age, Makoto did not know or understand it himself, but he was perfectly willing to simply love him from afar.

Makoto simply smiled up at Rin before pulling himself up to the next branch.

 

 

 

_a little ways down the road._

_._

_._

_._

 

“I swear to god, Makoto, just do it!”

“But you know I’m not good at holding my breath for long. I’m going to lose, and you know it, Rin.”

“Why’d you think I’m asking you then, heh?”

Rin choked back a laugh at Makoto’s affronted look. The two of them were at the pool in Iwatobi High, under the pretense that they were _practicing,_ but really it was Rin who wanted to swim but the Samezuka pool was closed due to maintenance. Makoto didn’t know how but here they were. (Haru was napping when Makoto had gone to meet up with Rin, but he had left a note in case Haru wanted to join – and Rin had already left him a dozen text messages.)

“You gonna do it or what?” Rin pushed back his wet, floppy hair.

“Is that supposed to be a challenge, Rin?” Makoto laughed.

“Depends if you’re going to take it as one,” Rin grinned, his eyes flashing. While it was not exactly the same grin as the one he always made back in elementary school, it was still the grin that took Makoto’s breath each time he saw it. Still the confident, dazzling grin that made Makoto fall in love in the very first place.

“Well there’s no use in me arguing right?” Makoto smiled and Rin’s eyes seemed to brighten at that. “I’m still going to lose.

“Have a bit more _faith_ in yourself, Tachibana!” Rin splashed water at the brunet. Makoto jumped and returned the favour, the both of them laughing. “You may do the honours of counting us off.”

The words rung a familiar tune, and Makoto felt a little flip in his belly. Rin was looking at him expectantly, a quirk in his lips, his knees bending slightly in the water.

“1…2…”

The sounds of splashing were cut off as the both of them submerged themselves into the water, senses immediately obscured by the surrounding blue glow. Bubbles billowed out from under their forms before breaking out into the surface.

Makoto had never been good at holding his breath, be it on land or underwater. The backstroke never required him to keep his breath still for extended periods of time, and Makoto just had only-just average stamina to begin with. But for the first few seconds, it wasn’t that much of a problem, he could easily hold out for a bit.

Perhaps Makoto was simply susceptible to having his breath taken away. This was almost the case when his eyes focused in the water to look at Rin, who floated in the water with his arms crossed, hair flowing freely and his mouth staying determinedly shut, eyes glittering at him in the iridescence.

Being in the water had a feeling of being in a completely different world (maybe Haru had a point after all), and in Makoto’s world Rin had always been far out and beyond his reach. Yet here he was, only some inches away from him, eyes dancing playfully, holding his breath.

_“And I bet you nobody has ever climbed this high up with me before. Nobody’s seen this much with me before.”_

Rin wasn’t an unreachable star in the sky. Makoto had always been able to be right beside him, and perhaps it was high time Makoto actually _let_ himself do so. Here Rin was, always beautiful, always inspiring.

His lungs already wanting to give out, Makoto slowly allowed himself to release the air he had been holding in his mouth, moving forward and barely giving Rin enough time to let out his air in surprise before kissing him full on the mouth.

.

.

.

Barely a minute later they would both resurface and Rin would hit Makoto hard on the shoulder, but Makoto would kiss him again before they could both catch their breaths, and he’d feel lips pressing back against his own, and perhaps Makoto could always do with a little more faith when he falls in love all over again with Rin.

**Author's Note:**

> And then Haru arrives and finds these dumb dorks making out in the pool. He throws a bottle at them and tells them to stop disturbing the sanctity of the water. Also he secretly takes pictures.
> 
> The idea of this fic was inspired by [my friend](cravingcolors.tumblr.com) who always stated that she wanted to see more Makoto-side in makorin, that it'd be interesting to explore what Rin does for Makoto, in his perspective. I'm not sure if this fic really does that but kind...of...? Just a tad, pretty discreetly. Hence this is pretty much Makoto-POV.
> 
> I kind of wrote this whilst sleep-deprived so if anything seems off it's probably because of that. I did proofread a couple times but hey, but hey. Also you do not want to know how much I wanted to make Rin say "show me a sight I've never seen before" in the first part.
> 
>   ~~Also something light and sweet to redeem myself after my[shameless makorin shota makeouts](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1370311)?~~
> 
> HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOUPIE THROWS ALL THE MAKORINS AT YOU and also mucho thanks to [moose](http://butleronduty.tumblr.com/) for livestreaming shota cats+doge whilst I was writing. Your art gives me strength.
> 
> ([tumblr link](http://brewcha.tumblr.com/post/80993633453/tell-me-darling-can-i-fall-in-love-with-you))


End file.
